Here’s The Scoop ….. Oversight … Overlooked … Overreaching

MANAGER MEMOS THAT COME FULLY LOADED …….

Dear Readers…The Town Manager is actively doing oversight and micro – managing the VFD now that McIntee is no longer the Deputy Chief…He has been observed in her office since he returned back from up north…and what comes after these visits…requests from McIntee for the VFD as Vice Mayor vs. Mcintee going to he VFD as a member still on the roster for info in an all out effort to undermine them…Now the Manager has again decided to do oversight …we hear on McIntee’s behest …TM Colon sent a memo on Dec. 30th to VFD Chief Perkins stating that they had a conversation on Dec. 28th and wrote to Chief Perkins “you advised me that the above firefighter (John Louvaris) is on administrative leave”…She went on to add the following ” This memorandum will serve to confirm that the above firefighter is on administrative leave until further pending investigation is complete and/ or resolved as you previously notified the Town on Sept. 9, 2009.”…

The Town Manager is following up on a request for the roster that was made through her by Vice Mayor McIntee (prev. post)…It is said the VFD made the decision to reinstate from leave firefighter Louvaris as is the right of the Chief…”the Chief’s discretion”…a familiar phrase used often to cover the questionable actions made by Dep. Chief McIntee (prev. posts)… This writer has been told there is nothing in the VFD By-laws to keep Louvaris from coming back as a firefighter as he awaits a court date which could take quite a long time…Louvaris was was charged with misdemeanor petit theft. He spent the night in jail before paying $25 bond…and as he said to the Sentinel is “he is innocent until proven guilty”…. For Town Manager Colon to send this memo is yet again another sign of where her loyalties lie…with Mcintee / Silverstone… This is the very same Manager that did no oversight when former Battalion Chief Patrick Pointu sent his letter of concerns about Mcintee…This is the Town Manager that did no oversight McIntee when he broke VFD By-laws to become Deputy Chief of the VFD…This is the Town Manager that did no oversight when McIntee was purchasing for the VFD contrary to what he told the Fl. Ethics Comm. ….This is the Town Manager that did nothing when McIntee was involved in the suicide and did not follow VFD SOPs…This is the Town Manager that did no oversight when McIntee was the recipient of a complaint filed against him in Mexico and This is the Town Manager that has done no oversight about the 5 other complaints in McIntee’s file according to the VFD Chief!…

Another memo went out to address the new contract for Choice Environmental that left many residents in Town with overflowing garbage for days after Christmas…(prev. posts)…The new contract was put together by the Town Manager and longtime readers will recall it was substandard… How substandard it was posted in a Feb 24,2009 post on this site after I attended the pre-contact meeting…At that meeting besides all the problematic inclusions and exclusions found by Waste Management and their Atty. was the following …

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2/24/09 Pre-Waste Contract Meeting”

“GIVE THEM THANKSGIVING OFF!….

Waste Management asked for their “guys” to get Thanksgiving off…believe it or not…it’s up to the Commission to decide…right now…they only get Christmas off…that should be a big “passes 5-0”!

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So Waste Management the Town’s longtime vendor at that time made a point of asking for a 2nd holiday off for their guys…

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The memo from TM Colon dated 12/31/09 included the previous Waste Management contract …and the following…

“ARTICLE 11 HOURS OF OPERATION 11.1 FRANCHISEE shall not be required to provide collection service on Christmas Day or any other legal holiday when the County incinerator is closed for delivery, however, if the holiday falls on a normal collection day, collection shall be made no later than three (3) business days after that holiday.”

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When the contract was passed by the Commission I posted the following….

4/14/09 post..
“The waste employees will get an additional holiday off…in addition to Xmas…New Years Day…(this needed to be voted on to allow)

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The new Contract would have applied to whomever..was awarded the RFP…. New Years was added in as a second holiday by this commission ….

Previously posted on December 28th…was “HOLIDAY PICK-UP SCHEDULE” portion of the new contract for Choice..

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12/28/09

“RFP #09-02-01 Effective July 1, 2009…page 22- 7.2 “HOLIDAY PICK-UP SCHEDULE Christmas and News (as written) Years Day shall be a Holiday. The CONTRACTOR shall not be required to provide Solid Waste, Bulk Waste, and Recycling Collection or maintain office hours on that Holiday. Solid Waste and Bulk Waste not collected on a designated Holiday SHALL BE COLLECTED ON THE CUSTOMER’S NEXT REGULARLY SCHEDULED PICK-UP DAY AFTER THE HOLIDAY. Recycling Materials not collected on a designated Holiday. The TOWN reserves the tight to add or delete designated holidays for the duration of this agreement.”

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Readers can see how the Town Manager changed the contract and why they were impacted ….There was no attempt by the Town Manager or her staff to “educate” the residents to the change in service…and the residents assumed that the service would remain as they were used to…thus the piling up garbage and possums…

Someone must have done something behind the scenes because Choice did not follow the new Colon contract and came to pick up the garbage on certain streets earlier than required after Christmas … Choice also picked up garbage and recycling earlier than the Colon contract after New Years Eve… So will the contract be re-negotiated in time for next Christmas and New Years?…..

The Chamber of Commerce was given a budgeted $5,000 for Christmas-By-The-Sea this year…but when they received the money from the Town the Town Manager sent along a letter on Dec. 30th that said “Attached please find a check in the amount of $4,552.00. Please note that I did not reimburse the Chamber for the donation made to the Children’s Home Society, since you clearly indicated it was a donation made to them. Happy holidays and please don’t hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. Sincerely Esther Colon Town Manager”… The Town Manager chose unilaterally to deduct almost $500 from the allotted amount the Commission voted on 5-0 to give the Chamber because they chose to give to a charity!.. There were no stipulations and no direction asked for from the dais…….

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on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 5:18 pm and is filed under local government, Local Politics, Scoops, VFD.
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